The anger came flooding back. “I guess.”
My father reached his arm out for me to take it. That meant we were going on a walk alone together.
Slipping my hand through his arm, I felt calmed even though I wanted to be angry.
“Walk with me, Grace.”
Nodding my head, I peeked at Noah who gave me a wink.
Daddy and I made our way to the front door. Opening it, I stepped outside and took in a deep breath as I made my way down the stairs. We walked a good block before he finally broke the silence.
“Why didn’t you tell your mother and me about this Noah kid?”
I rolled my eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “He’s not a kid.”
My father let out a deep laugh. “No, he certainly is not a kid. He’s too good looking, and the way he looks at you pisses me off.”
With a stunned look on my face, I turned to my father. “He’s too good looking? What in the hell does that mean, Dad?”
His shoulders shrugged as he broke our stare and looked behind me. “Guys like that . . . I don’t trust them.”
I slowly shook my head as I placed my hands on my hips. “Guys like what?”
Piercing my eyes with his, I saw anger building. “I don’t want you getting hurt, Grace. Guys like Noah, good looking and a built guy, he’s going to have girls throwing themselves at him and well . . . well, he might be tempted by them.”
Dropping my hands to my side, I balled them into fists. “Are you for real right now? You’re standing here saying that I’m not good enough to keep a guy like Noah?”
My father jerked his head back in surprise. “I didn’t say that.”
“Yes you did, Dad. You did say that.”
“I’m just saying that . . . that . . . oh God, I don’t know what I’m saying, Grace. I’m a little out of my element here. You’ve only ever dated one guy that I’ve known of and he turned out to be a little prick, and I know there was more to that story that I never got. I show up to surprise you with a trip home and there is some guy setting up a picnic in the backyard and all I can think is—”
My father’s voice cracked as he looked away. Placing my hand on his arm, I asked, “All you can think of is what?”
Slowly turning back to look at me, my father had tears building in his eyes. Sucking in a breath, I asked in a low voice, “Daddy, what’s wrong?”
Swallowing hard, my father closed his eyes. “All I can think of is he’s taking you away from me. The way he looks at you, I see it in his eyes—and yours. He’s taking you from me.”
Feeling my lower lip start quivering, I bit down on it and attempted to hold in my sob. When I felt like I could speak without crying, I gave him a smile. “Daddy, no one is ever going to take me from you. I haven’t mentioned Noah because he and I haven’t been dating for the last year. I was stupid and pushed him away when I realized I loved him, but he came for me. He loved me enough not to give up on me. Daddy, Noah makes me feel so happy and when I’m with him, I feel whole.”
Closing his eyes, my father slowly nodded his head. “Grace, I don’t want you to rush into something. You’ve got so much going for you.”
Giving him a slight push, I said, “I’m not going to ruin my future, Daddy. I promise you.”
“What about Wild Flower, your plans with Alex?” he asked as his eyes searched my face.
“That’s still my plan. Noah is not going to stand in the way of my future. You have to trust me, Daddy. If anything, Noah will be a big part of my future.”
Letting out a deep breath, my father ran his hand through his hair. “I do trust you, Grace. Why don’t you come home this weekend, I’m sure Grams would love to see you.”
I was standing at a crossroads, and I knew which road I wanted to take. I only hoped my father understood. “Daddy, I love that you came all the way here to surprise me, but I do have a life and Noah is going to be a part of it. I really want to go to Austin with him this weekend, meet his family. It means a lot to him and I want to be by his side. He’s going to lose his mom and I want him to know I’ll be there for him.”
The muscles in his jaw tightened. “Okay, well I guess this is a lesson for me to always call before I make a road trip.”
Giving him a smirk, I nodded my head and said, “Yes. Yes it is.”
“Will you be staying with Noah while you’re in Austin?”
This was awkward.
“Yes.”
Raising his eyebrow, my father asked, “Not in the same room though, right?”